Jason Smith/Getty ImagesBruton Smith would love to see NASCAR bunch up the field for a late-race dash to the finish.

Finally, someone in a high place agrees with me.

As I wrote about in a column last summer, I hate fuel-mileage races with a passion. The fans want to see exciting racing to determine the victor, not who has the most droplets of gas left in the tank.

I've pined for years for NASCAR and other racing series to throw a mandatory caution flag inside the final fuel window, for all teams to top off their tanks and make other adjustments. Put the race back in the drivers' hands.

If Bruton Smith gets his way, that could finally happen in NASCAR. The Speedway Motorsports Inc. CEO suggested last week at Kentucky Speedway - one of the facilities he owns - that the sport could benefit from cautions at predetermined points in the race.

"I'd rather have that than some mysterious debris caution. The integrity of racing is about letting the race play out, and sometimes that's the most exciting finish, sometimes it's not. Trying to get in the middle of that can be challenging. If you're going to do it, it's got to be something planned in advance, and you take a break. I'm not totally against it."

"NASCAR fans want the event to unfold unartificially. The racing that goes on on the racetrack under green is as exciting as any in motorsports. Sports is a true reality show as it unfolds ... you have to be careful when you think about artificially creating the outcome of that."

I can see both sides of that argument. I know where I stand, but for now, we'll let the decision-makers come up with a definitive call on this one.

On to two more hot topics:

Someone almost always seems to bring up the possibility of Richard Childress trotting out Dale Earnhardt's famous No. 3 to use for his grandson Austin Dillon when he finally reaches the NASCAR Sprint Cup level.

Childress will always say it's a family number - he used it, and he's passed it down to his grandsons Austin and Ty - more so than Earnhardt's. Of course, many of Earnhardt's fans feel otherwise.

Dillon told reporters at Daytona Thursday that he wouldn't mind driving the No. 3 on the Cup level. After all, he won a championship in the Camping World Truck Series and is leading the Nationwide Series title chase with the number.

Before doing so, however, Dillon would still want to be sure those involved are completely at ease. saying:

"I still would love the approval of my grandfather and the guys. Seeing more fans each and every week come up to him is the best way to do it -- the more people coming to him wanting to see it."

I've warmed up to the idea of bringing the number back to Cup. And I've also warmed up to the hoopla surrounding Dillon. Sure, the kid has family connections that others don't have, but he's also talented enough to prove he belongs in such good equipment.

And finally ...

Talk about having to be conservative.

Izod IndyCar Series star Scott Dixon has nearly burned through the five engines that he is allowed to have under series rules -- and we're still six races from the end of the season.

“You’ve got to roll with it. There’s nothing we can change. It is what it is. A little bit of concern, but you can’t do anything by sitting up all night worrying about it.”

it's that "icewater in the veins" approach that has made Dixie and teammate Dario Franchitti so successful under the Target Chip Ganassi Racing banner. It still must not be a good feeling to know that one more blown engine will result in Dixon receiving a 10-position penalty when he has to make a change.